“You promised to marry me.”
“In the girl’s eyes, tears are trembling.”
“Másh, I was just joking…” I say, bewildered.
“It’s cruel! I believed you, and you lied!”
“Why are you…?” I try to hug her and calm her down. “I never even thought—”
“Too late.” Mashka sniffs and wipes her tears with her sleeve. “There’s no turning back. I already told my father and my brother.”
“What?!”
***Somewhere in my best friend’s kitchen, I told him that I’d marry his little sister when she grew up. Back then I didn’t even imagine how it would all end. But nothing scares me as much as the thought that I might actually have to keep that joking promise.